Creation of Identities in Political Conflict: Kenya’s Newspaper Discourse
Date
2016
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL)
Abstract
This article looks into the construction of political identities in the discourse of two Kenyan
newspaper headline stories covering the period of the Kenyan Coalition Government formed in 2008 to stem
political conflict that arose after the disputed elections of 2007.It focuses on the two principals of the coalition
government, President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Using a Critical Discourse
Analysis(CDA) approach, the study analyses newspaper headline stories of the two leading newspapers in
Kenya, Daily Nation and The Standard to gauge how the newspapers created identities for the two principals in
the context of the political situation that existed then. The Prime Minister (PM) Raila Odinga is seen as a hero
but also a victim of political forces. He is also evaluated as a peacemaker who quells conflicts brought about by
his co-principal. President Kibaki, on the hand is depicted as an opportunist, anti-reformist and an ineffective
leader. The newspapers exploit discourse strategies such as evaluative lexicon, structuring, schematic form and
metaphor to create the identities and to persuade the audience to adopt a certain ideological stance.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Discourse, Political Conflict, Constructed Identities, CDA, ideological stance
Citation
Karuri, M., & Muriungi, P. (2016). Creation of Identities in Political Conflict: Kenya’s Newspaper Discourse.